24:7 Dad® + Case Management = A Winning Combo

A few months ago, I spoke with two researchers who recently completed an evaluation of a fatherhood program that uses 24:7 Dad^® as its foundation. They were planning to submit a proposal to conduct a more rigorous evaluation of the overall fatherhood program and wanted to learn more about evaluations that focused on isolating the impact of 24:7 Dad^®.

“Why?” I asked.

Confused, they paused before saying, “Well, we need to tell the potential funder that 24:7 Dad^® is effective.”

“Why?” I repeated, despite being wary that they might jump off the call.

“Because the funder will want to know that.”

“That’s fair, and I’m happy to provide you with that evidence. But shouldn’t your funder be interested in knowing more about when 24:7 Dad^® has its greatest impact? After all, the fatherhood program you just evaluated is a prime example!” 

24:7 Dad^® + Case Management

The 24:7 Dad^® program has its greatest impact when combined with other components that address the challenges dads can face that aren’t directly related to building pro-fathering awareness, knowledge, and skills. These challenges include employment, education, housing, financial literacy, alcohol and substance abuse, mental and physical health concerns, parental alienation, domestic violence, and more. Dads who struggle with these challenges and don’t have support in addressing them can also struggle to prioritize participating in 24:7 Dad^®. Consequently, they don’t absorb all the program has to offer and reap its benefits.

That’s why the first better practice we cover in our 24:7 Dad^® training institutes is to implement it as part of a larger intervention that customizes support for each dad’s unique challenges. This case management approach is often characterized by group-based and individualized (one-on-one) supports. It unlocks the potential of 24:7 Dad^® in transforming dads’ relationships with their children, co-parents, and even themselves.

Powerful Evidence

The most significant evaluations are those that measure the impact of this broader approach. Here are three examples:

• Prepare and Prepare Plus: Researchers used a randomized controlled trial (RCT) to compare the Osborne Association’s (New York, NY) Prepare program—a combination of 24:7 Dad^® and a workforce development program specific to New York—to Prepare Plus, which added a trauma-informed training of program facilitators so they could help individual dads to more effectively deal with their trauma. (Osborne serves parents returning from incarceration.) Dads assigned to both groups experienced significant gains in parent involvement with the Prepare Plus dads experiencing significantly higher gains in parenting self-efficacy. 24:7 Dad^® was the only component designed to influence both outcomes.
• FELLAS: Researchers used a pre-program to post-program comparison to evaluate 24:7 Dad^®—the core component of the Partnership for Maternal and Child Health of Northern New Jersey’s FELLAS (Fathers Empowered to Lead, Learn, and Achieve Success) program—combined with a relationship and marriage strengthening component and individualized employment supports. Dads experienced significant gains in father involvement and parenting skills, which 24:7 Dad^® affects.
• The Dad’s Club: Researchers used a pre-program to post-program comparison to evaluate 24:7 Dad^®—the core component of Vista Community Clinic’s (San Diego, CA) The Dad’s Club—combined with individualized healthy relationships, financial literacy, and employment case management supports. Dads experienced significant gains in seven of the nine outcomes measured. These outcomes included those affected by 24:7 Dad^®, such as recency of dads seeing their children, frequency of contacting their children, and positive parenting practices.

We know 24:7 Dad^® increases profathering knowledge, attitudes, and skills. It also reduces the risk of child abuse and neglect, and increases parenting self-efficacy. But these and other positive outcomes are more likely when using the power of the 24:7 Dad^® + case management formula.

Are you implementing 24:7 Dad^® or any other father-inclusive effort without addressing the challenges that indirectly impact fathers’ involvement in their children’s lives?

If you’re evaluating your father-inclusive effort—and I hope you are—are you measuring the impact of its different components in addition to the broader intervention?